The reason for choosing Eclypse Online Solutions over others were several. I was approached by Chris in Jan 2009 about an online system. I'd met Chris when he's visited Cape Verde in 2008. He told me about his brother's web business in Perth, Australia.

Chris said that he was going to be working with his brother Ed to create websites and sell the Adobe Business Catalyst System, but that he would be based at a new office in the UK.

The web designer I'd been using in Portugal had been in the process of getting one of their technicians to provide a back office system in English, but unfortunately he'd stopped working for them and there was no sign that anyone else would be appointed to replace him. I knew it was very unlikely that I could tackle learning Portuguese before trying to learn about website functionalities, SEO and other things. It was going to be a long time waiting for another person to be appointed and then I had no idea how long again before the system would be fully functional in English.

I didn't have a clue about most of the things I could do or had to more importantly learn about regarding websites but I also knew I needed to do something to move myself and my website forward without it costing me an arm and a leg, I needed my arm and my leg! I obviously wanted to make the right decision if I was to change web host.

Other web designers also offered the back office system in English, however the Adobe system seemed like the best choice. As for accessibility to web designers, everyone was abroad anyway.

I decided that Eclipse Online Solutions would be the better option for me and the fact that I knew Chris made me feel slightly more comfortable than going with one of the others that I didn't know and, who were much more expensive than EOS for the initial site migration from one host to another. I didn't have the funding to have a new site built, but a site migration (site transfer) to a new and better host and system would be a positive move, better than stagnating!

The Eclipse system is not just a website but an online business. This new online business system with Eclipse meant that I didn't need to learn how to create a blog system, learn how to set up a forum or newsletter campaign, learn how to set up an online shopping catalogue and cart, it was already set up if I wanted it, but I would still need to learn many more things that could be done on the system to make all those functions look and work properly without me messing things up. That for sure, would take me out of my 'comfort zone' and capabilities to date.

So, having taken some months to carry out this research I still kept coming back to Eclipse to check out their tutorials and watch the videos about the various modules/ functions they can provide.

Eclipse also provide and build a website at a competitive rate (if you think you just need a website), this wasn't for me.....been there done that and now needed something different. Anyone looking to run their business through a website should take a look at the Adobe system and on the Eclipse website, it costs more for hosting but hopefully it will be worth it in the long run. A free 30day trial of their system can be arranged too.......... there are no catches with this, you will not be signing up to buy a website or system off them at the end of the 30 days, unless you want too!

At the same time as making the move over to Eclipse with the Cape Verde Tips website, I decided it was the right time to launch the second website, Expats Cape Verde.

The Eclipse system is a content management system and an 'all in one business solution' to running an online business. It has provided me with the tools to take the CVTips website forward and also provided me with support for search engine optimisation.

My own personal development with websites is evolving all but exceedingly slowly at the same time and I don't spend enough time trying to learn things or working on developing new areas for business purposes. Not having any training in websites to speak of and then embarking on the Cape Verde Tips (CVTips) website in 2005, not understanding the basics, getting confused by the jargon and terms used, together with a lack of foresight into how I wanted the website to function has been frustrating at times to say the least. This in turn has resulted in some lethargy on my part.

However the new web system provides a number of helpful tutorials and a lot more functions for me to play around with in the back office, not all easy for me to understand still. There is still a lot of jargon or technical terms that I am unfamiliar with, but the information and support has been beneficial. It's still trial and error for me as I don't always follow instructions, I don't like reading about stuff if I don't understand (having read it) what it is they are going on about. I would rather be shown what to do. One of my strengths is that I am good at loosing stuff, because I think I am being clever......not!

I am still confident that with a lot of perseverance and time ‘I will get there’........ but for the above reasons, I have a feeling it will take longer than I or others think it should!

I hope you are around to watch both the CVTips and ExpatsCV sites grow with me, from my little room on a little island in the sun.

Cheryl

LINK: Eclipse Online Solutions